Secure Bike Storage

Diamond Standard secure cycle parking provides a great income opportunity at any UK railway station

After leading the market in secure cycle parking for over 20 years, BikeAway has developed ‘Smart Warrior’, a Sold Secure Bicycle Diamond rated cycle locker which is Secured by Design accredited and recognised by all major bike insurers. This system builds on a very successful locker management service which now offers short term cycle parking by introducing technology to allow multiple users to book the use of a locker online and activate entry using a smart phone.

As a secure cycle parking provision at railway stations, Smart Warrior are a win, win for everybody; providing cyclists with a safe, secure place to leave their increasing valuable bicycles and providing an income for stations.

Smart Warrior has been born out of extensive work BikeAway has done with Irish rail, installing over 300 lockers in 20 stations throughout Southern Ireland. This five-year project has taught them a great deal about what commuter cyclists require and how rail customers have changed in their travelling habits since the Covid pandemic. Commuters who may only now go into the office for two or three days of the week, for example, can book a Smart Warrior for those days only; a passenger going on a day trip or away for a few days would feel encouraged to cycle to the station knowing they had a secure space for their bike. This service enables rail customers, who wish to ride a quality bike or E-bike to a station to catch a train, to book a Smart Warrior ahead of time (up to twelve months in advance).

The booking can be for any duration and any day of the week. In addition to the drive for more sustainable travel and the increase in the popularity of cycling generally, the type of bikes that are used by today’s commuter are high-tech pieces of equipment and the importance of security in storing these, should not be under-estimated. Any locker user will be asked to register in advance and pay a registration fee to allow for a security check on all users of the scheme to be carried out before they use the locker, ensuring the name and address of each cyclist who is using the locker at any station and at any time is known.

The flexibility afforded when booking the Smart Warrior will lead to a greater usage for each locker which, because of the high standard of cycle security, the user will be happy to pay for. This will be a valued service at any railway station, whether main line or an unmanned rural location and the provision can be easily added to as demand grows. For lockers in a sunny position, the addition of an e-bike charging solar system is a further enhancement.

The charge to the cyclist to use a Smart Warrior at a particular station will be a third of the carparking charge made for the same duration of time. This will be viewed as a very reasonable charge as the money saved by commuting using a bike far exceeds these charges – and the peace of mind for the cyclist who can be confident they can leave their bike and not worry about it being tampered with or not stolen will help to increase demand. The space saving design allows for either six horizontal or six vertical Smart Warriors to fit into the area of just one carparking space, not only increasing the number of rail customers by six-fold (assuming one commuter in a car), but also doubling the potential revenue.

The revenue of the Smart locker is paid to the station or facilities manager, minus a minimal monthly charge for the upkeep of the booking website and a fixed 2.5 per cent commission on all income, producing a great secondary income for each station.

Tel: 01752 344656, 01752 202116

Email: Jason@bikeaway.com

Visit: www.bikeaway.com